Slipper



Dec. 7, 1965 w. LEMESHNIK 3,221,422

' SLIPPER Filed March 21, 1963 F/GT/ m /a f (3; I S 20 PRIOR ART R. F/G. 3 WILL/AM L QXIE' Z EIWK ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,221,422 SLIPPER William Lemeshnilr, White Plains, NLY., assignor to Jo- Nan Enterprises line, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 266,953 2 Claims. (Cl. 36-9) This invention relates to articles of footwear such as slippers, sandals, and the like, and in general are of the type which do not have rigid leather soles as are conventional in footwear such as shoes.

The slippers of the present invention are generally for indoor wear, but may be worn outdoors if desired. Hence, the slippers of the present invention are more in the nature of house slippers made from fabrics, impervious waterproof layers of sheet-like material, foam rubber or open cell polymeric plastic materials, etc., with or without lace or other ornamentation.

Heretofore, it has been conventional in the slipper field to manufacture slippers of the type of the present invention in a manner whereby the upper is secured to the sole by means of stitching extending through binding tape disposed around the edges of the upper and sole. Such binding tape is conventionally the same material as the upper. The first portion of the slipper to wear is the portion of the tape which overlaps the lowermost surface of the sole and the stitching at such portion. Hence, the life of the slipper is dependent upon the life of such portion.

The present invention extends the life of slippers of the type described above by preventing the above-mentioned tape from overlapping the lowermost surface of the sole notwithstanding the fact that such tape is of the same material as the upper. This is accomplished by using two separate tapes with the second tape corresponding generally to the material and color of the layer of material constituting the lowermost surface of the sole.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a slipper less susceptible to wear than similarly constructed slippers as produced heretofore.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a slipper wherein the insole and outsole are peripherally embraced by separate tapes, with the insole tape corresponding generally to the material of the upper and the outsole tape corresponding generally to the material of the layer of material constituting the lowermost surface on the outsole.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a slipper made from fabric which is comfortable, attractive, and has a longer life than similarly constructed slippers as proposed heretofore.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIGURE 1 is a sectional View through a slipper made in accordance with the prior art.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of a typical embodiment of a slipper in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 33 in FIGURE 2, but illustrated on an enlarged scale.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein like numerals indicate like elements, there is shown in FIGURE 1 a cross sectional view of a slipper made in accordance with the prior art and designated generally as 10.

The slipper includes an upper 12 having its peripheral edge portion secured to the peripheral edge portion of a sole designated generally as 14. The sole 14 comprises an insole 16 which may be made from fabric such as satin and an outsole 18 which may be a layer of felt, plastic, etc. A tape 20 corresponding to the material of the upper 12 extends around the peripheral edge portions of the upper 12 and sole 14 with stitching 22 extending through the juxtaposed layers.

The disadvantage of the slippers made in accordance with the prior art as illustrated in FIGURE 1 lies in the fact that the tape 20 is a fabric generally corresponding to the material and color of the upper 12. For womens household slippers, the material of upper 12 will be satin, nylon, etc. The portion 24 of the tape 20 which overlaps the layer 18 is juxtaposed to the floor or other surface being walked on, and is the portion which wears first. As soon as portion 24 becomes worn, it becomes raggy looking and materially detracts from the appearance of the slipper 10 so as to necessitate discarding the slipper 10. Due to the inexpensive nature of the slipper 10, repair of the same is not warranted when the above condition results due to the wearing of the slipper 10.

The present invention overcomes the disadvantage of the prior art as described above by means of the slipper illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3 and designated generally as 30. The slipper 30 includes an upper 32, sometimes referred to as a vamp, which may be of the open-toe type, thereby terminating in its front and rear edges in tapes 34 and 36. The upper 32 is secured at its periphery to the insole of the sole 38 of the slipper 30.

The insole to which the upper 32 is secured comprises a layer 40 which may be a layer of satin, silk, cotton, or other attractive fabric. The insole also includes a layer 42 juxtaposed to the layer 40 with a layer of open-cell polymeric material or foam rubber therebetween. Layer 42 is preferably a waterproof layer such as a layer of thin plastic, felt materials, etc. A tape 44 extends around the peripheral edge portions of the upper 32, layer 40, layer 41, layer 42, and stitched together as a unit by stitching 46.

The sole 38 includes an outsole 48 which is made separately from the elements of the slipper 30 described above, and is secured thereto as will be made clear hereinafter. The outsole 48 includes a layer 50 constituting the floor-engaging layer of the slipper 30. Layer Stl may be a layer of felt, a thin layer of waterproof plastic, etc. A layer 52 of foam rubber, open-foam polymeric plastic material such as polypropylene, etc., is juxtaposed to the layer 50. Layer 52 is at least five times as thick as the layer 50. A tape 54 extends around the layers 50 and 52 and the peripheral edge portions thereof are secured together by stitching 56. If desired, stitching 56 may be eliminated.

Thereafter, during the construction of the slipper 30, the outsole 48 will be juxtaposed to the insole and secured thereto by stitching 58 which extends around the periphery of the slipper 30 parallel to the stitching 46 and 56. Stitching 58 extends through each layer of the sole 38 and the upper 32 as well as the tapes 44 and 54.

While the tape 44 is made from the material of the upper 32, the tape 54 is preferably made from the material of layer 50. Quite often, it is desirable to make the upper 32 laminar in structure with quilting patterns or the like thereon. In such event, the outermost layer of the laminated upper 32 will be the material used for the tape 44.

In this manner, the slipper will retain its attractive appearance when viewed from above. At the same time, the fabric tape 44 will not be juxtaposed or come in contact with the floor or other surface on which the slipper is worn. Hence, tape 44 is not subject to wear in the same manner as is occasioned by slippers of the prior art, as

illustrated in FIGURE 1. Since the tape 54 is made from the same or similar material as the layer 50, the slipper 30 is more prone to longer wearing life and is capable of being made from materials which enable the same to be worn outdoors. The layer 42 is generally waterproof in nature or substantially waterproof so as to prevent the same from deteriorating. If desired, the entire slipper 30. may be made from waterproof materials or washable materials.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A slipper comprising an upper, an insole, said insole comprising an inner fabric layer, a cushion layer and an outer water impervious material layer, a first tape overlapping peripheral portion of said upper and insole, stitching extending through said tape, upper and insole peripheral portions thereby retaining the same in assembled relationship, an outsole having an outermost layer and an innermost layer, said innermost layer being made of a resilient cushioning material, a second tape corresponding to the material of the outermost layer of said outsole, said second tape overlapping peripheral portions of said layer of said outsole, second stitching extending through said second tape and outsole thereby retaining the same in assembled relationship, and a third stitching extending through said tapes and the overlapped peripheral portions of the insole and outsole thereby binding the same together.

2. A slipper in accordance with claim 1 wherein said outsole innermost layer is five times as thick as said outermost layer.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,386,357 8/1921 Patton 36-16 X 2,226,110 12/1940 Bass 36-9 2,334,659 11/1943 Van Arsdale et al. 36-9 2,409,813 10/1946 Timson 36-9 X 2,563,092 8/1951 Zacks 36-9 2,736,109 2/1956 Scholl 36-44 2,803,894 8/1957 Morgan 36-9 2,919,503 1/ 1960 Sholovitz 36-9 2,971,278 2/1961 Scholl 36-9 2,978,817 4/1961 Brenner 36-11.5 X 2,995,839 8/1961 Cronin 36-9 2,996,814 8/1961 Baker 36-9 FOREIGN PATENTS 390,258 7/1908 France.

7,444 3/ 1902 Great Britain.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A SLIPPER COMPRISING AN UPPER, AN INSOLE, SAID INSOLE COMPRISING AN INNER FABRIC LAYER, A CUSHION LAYER AND AN OUTER WATER IMPERVIOUS MATERIAL LAYER, A FIRST TAPE OVERLAPPING PERIPHERAL PORTION OF SAID UPPER AND INSOLE, STITCHING EXTENDING THROUGH SAID TAPE, UPPER AND INSOLE PERIPHERAL PORTIONS THEREBY RETAINING THE SAME IN ASSEMBLED RELATIONSHIP, AN OUTSOLE HAVING AN OUTERMOST LAYER AND AN INNERMOST LAYER, SAID INNERMOST LAYER BEING MADE OF A RESILIENT CUSHIONING MATERIAL, A SECOND TAPE CORRESPONDING TO THE MATERIAL OF THE OUTERMOST LAYER OF SAID OUTSOLE, SAID SECOND TAPE OVERLAPPING PERIPHERAL PORTIONS OF SAID LAYER OF SAID OUTSOLE, SECOND STITCHING EXTENDING THROUGH SAID SECOND TAPE AND OUTSOLE THEREBY RETAINING THE SAME IN ASSEMBLED RELATIONSHIP, AND A THIRD STITCHING EXTENDING THROUGH SAID TAPES AND THE OVERLAPPED PERIPHERAL PORTIONS OF THE INSOLE AND OUTSOLE THEREBY BINDING THE SAME TOGETHER. 